Workmen's advocate. (New Haven, Conn.) 1883-1891, 1887-09-17

lund's new book, "Danton," have been
received, and we present our readers
with the introduction, which in itself
will be interesting to such of our readers
who watch the progress of the labor
and are concerned in its his
tory and development The book will
shortly be published by Lee & Shepard,
Boston:
A KEY TO THE FRENCH REVOLUTION.
'"rhe Revolutlon-call 1t good or bad
As you yearn toward the future or the past.
-NICT0R HUGo.
All thoughtful people look forward to
great changes in the near future. and
many think that some catastrophe like
that of the French Revolution is impend
ing in all civilized countries. | feel CON
tident that the young, who stand on the
threshold of these events. can forestall
the threatened catastrophe by assisting
in the birth of new social order. 1t is,
therefore, you. young men and women!
whom especially hope to influence in
these pages; whom desire, not by clev-
erness, not by brilliancy, but by intense
earnestness, to inspire with a sense of
DUTY, with the conviction of call to
interfere actively in the moulding of
events. Such is the point of this vol
ume.
This work. perhaps, will be found, also,
to be novel in this: that it presents to
you the great French Revolution from a
point of view from which it never be-
fore has been surveyed in print; not so
much that it may serve as an example
or warning. though that, also, but that
it may be seen to have been a prepare
ton for the work which should be per-
formed by yo"
All historians, in the English language
at least, have presented the Revolution
as a panorama of Kaleidoscope pictures,
and thereby made it simply perplexing
and puzzling subject. Such pictures are
altogether Improbable to us III our gen
Grafton, since they necessarily leave the
crisis an incomprehensibe, an nne,r-
plained phenomenon. Even in that
form it may confidently be said that no
portion of history has had such fascin-
alton for all classes Of readers as the
short period of French annals from 1899
to 1894; but how much greater would
the interest be, especially when its cen
tennal comes round, and the centennial
of that wonderful year 1893, if we could
once understand it!
However, mere history, or simple
story telling cannot possibly explain it:
history philosophy is indispensable to
that.
Great Britain possesses an historic
philosopher of the first rank in John
Morley, who also has written most pro
foundry and lucidly about the French
Revolution, and impartially as well. But
even he has not explained it all: he has
in no sense given us key to it. At the
beginning of his interesting work, ROuS.
seau, we meet with these words concern
ing the French Revolutions: THAT rev
dictionary drama, whose .ffth act is still
dark to u.s. and nowhere does he pre-
| tend to lift the veil. If, then, the fifth
| act is hidden from him in darkness, il
| he has no idea at all as to the outcome
how could he explain it? How could he
| Judge of the forces at work during the
crisis? Some hypothesis or other in re
gard to the fut'ue must be the key we
are looking for
1t, however, is a great thing in Nor
ley, that he sees something is yet com
| ing. Other writers, even great ones
have not had an mixing that there was
a fifth act at all. There is, for in
stance, Edgar Quinet, beyond question ;
most considerable French philosopher
whose masterpiece is a work entitled Ii
| RerOiutioa, in which he considers the
Revolution as an episode in French his
tory of ten years duration; as kind o.
comet that suddenly entered the path o
history in 1889, and as suddenly left i
in 1899, an! which might have procured
incidentally for the French such bIes
sings as the American Revolution pro
cured or us.
But there is sect of philosophers who
have gone to work in the right way. wht
have framed an hypothesis of the future
and attempted to explain the Frencl
Revolution by such hypothesis: tn,
Positivists, the disciples of August,
Compile. The French representatives O
that school-M. LATHE, DIR. Robinet. an,
Antonin Dubost in his DaRtoa aud ION
temporary PoiiticS-are aware of 'fiftl
act They insist that the conflict o
forces during the Revolution and in mod
ern society will result in a civilization
where the whole political and industrial
power of the community will be lodge,
in the hands of great chiefs of industry
great capitalists, who, 10y an organizet
public opinion, that is, by a spiritua